Who cares? 2026

In 2026, the third edition of “¿A quién le importa?”, the film archive and heritage event at Carlos III University of Madrid, returns for its third edition. ¿AQLI? highlights the work of film restoration and fosters a dialogue between contemporary audiences and the history of cinema, classic films, and those forgotten works that can now be rediscovered through a fresh perspective.

     

     

    Schedule

    Sections

    We’re continuing with genre cinema: AQLI? will once again feature screenings in the town of Getafe, aimed at a general audience that can enjoy recent restorations and strengthening the relationship between the university and the city’s cultural life. This year, the history of Spanish cinema will take center stage.

    Dates: April 9, 23, and 27, 2026, at 6:00 p.m.

    Location: Federico García Lorca Theater in Getafe

    Poster for the Spanish Cinema Restoration Series

    An academic conference to reflect on recent restorations of Spanish films, the use of film heritage in new works, and the ways in which film archives are organized. Download the event schedule

    Dates: March 25, 2026

    Location: Salón de Grados, Carlos III University of Madrid (Getafe Campus)

    Screenings associated with the event
    -No Passport for Spain (1969) + The Resistance in Spain (1973) – More information
    Presentation by Fidel Enciso
    Date: March 25 at 8:00 p.m.
    Location: Cine Estudio at the Círculo de Bellas Artes


    -A Well for the Thirsty (Yuri Ilyenko, 1965) – More information
    Presentation by Daniel Bird
    Date: March 26 at 7:30 p.m.
    Location: Cine Estudio at the Círculo de Bellas Artes

     

    More information about the conference

    Merging from the section “The Ones That Matter to—in which we’ve featured film directors Itsaso Arana and Fernando Trueba selecting their favorite films from the history of cinema—we propose that this year the film *On the Empty Balcony*take that prominent spot in the program. This film was directed by Jomí García Ascot, a Spanish artist in exile in Mexico, and has been restored thanks to a collaboration between the Film Archive of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola in the Basque Country

    Dates: to be confirmed

    Location: Spanish Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

    These restorations explore the concept of nomadism and transnational mobility in Europe, encompassing European migrations across three distinct time periods: the mobility of the 1920s, associated with the avant-garde movements; economic migration in the 1960s and 1970s; and, finally, the recent waves of migration in the 1990s.

    Dates: To be confirmed

    Location: Cine Estudio at the Círculo de Bellas Artes

    Learn about the project

    AQLI Principles

    • To situate Spanish cinema within the history of international cinema, using these events as a platform to share its history with influencers and cultural agents from around the world.
    • Promote the circulation of classics and new discoveries in the history of cinema through the national theater circuit, encouraging their reinterpretation and rediscovery by contemporary audiences.
    • To foster an awareness of film heritage among current and future audiences, while enhancing the large-format cinema experience as a space for enjoyment and shared knowledge.
    • To establish a collaborative event, bringing together diverse institutions and projects committed to creating and expanding new audiences.
    • Committing to an intergenerational curatorial model, based on the selection of titles and presentation formats by a young team—under 30—so that the perspective on the past is shaped from the most active, critical, and radical present.

    Carlos III University of Madrid (UC3M), as the project’s driving force, is committed to approaching film heritage from the perspective of the younger generation: those who are currently attending university or who have just entered the workforce. Within this framework, the Office of the Vice Rector for Communication, Culture, and Transparency has entrusted the curation to the collective mediadistancia, a team of young programmers who revisit the cinema of the past from a perspective firmly rooted in the present.

    In this third edition, ¿AQLI? expands its scope with a program that brings together institutional dialogue, film history, and public screenings. The opening session, in collaboration with the Film Academy, will feature Juan Diego Botto presenting *En el balcón vacío*, directed by Jomí García Ascot—an example of heritage preservation resulting from cooperation between archives and film schools.

    The Spanish Film Restorations series will return to the Federico García Lorca Theater in Getafe, strengthening the partnership between the university and the city, while the “Importing Archives” seminar will bring together researchers and European archive directors at the Getafe Campus to reflect on censorship, memory, and the reuse of images.

    The program is rounded out by the series “A Continent in Three Movements” at the Círculo de Bellas Artes, which will explore nomadism and European migration through restorations spanning the 20th century. With this, ¿AQLI? reinforces its mission to connect heritage, critical thinking, and new generations of audiences.

    AQLI? It aims to establish itself as a space for cinematic enjoyment and the celebration of film history and its heritage value. The project highlights the work of film restoration and fosters a dialogue between contemporary audiences and the cinema of past decades, through both great classics and works that, at the time, did not receive the recognition they deserved but can now be rediscovered from a new perspective.

    This objective is achieved through a diverse program that combines screenings of restored films with discussions and roundtable sessions focused on the archive and audiovisual memory. The activities take place at the participating institutions’ venues:

    Venues

    Historical

    Who cares? 2025

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